Translated by Serena Love

Edited by Azure

Chapter 56: Welcome Home Banquet

In the villa, the atmosphere in the living room was a bit awkward.

Tang Qiaoqiao never thought that Shen Yue's mother would suddenly return to China and appear in front of them in this unexpected way.

"Son, I'm back. Are you surprised?"

Who knew which island Madam Shen had just returned from. She wore a big beach hat and a gorgeous silk scarf common for middle-aged women to take pictures.

Shen Yue was obviously also surprised at the appearance of his mother. "Why didn't you tell me in advance when you were going back to China, our driver could have picked you up."

Madam Shen took off her hat and silk scarf and handed it to Aunt Wang together with the suitcase beside her feet.

"I just wanted to surprise you. It's boring to tell you in advance. You will fool me by then. Don't think I don't know."

Madam Shen added: "Besides, I'm not old enough to forget the road and need a driver to pick me up. You don't know. There are still people talking to me on the streets of foreign countries. Your mother's charm has not diminished."

Shen Yue frowned. "Aren't you recuperating your body abroad? What are you doing here?"

Madam Shen waved her hand. "At my age, who has no minor problems? Besides, I have recuperated."

"Big brother knows that you are back in China?"

"I haven't told him yet. I just came to you first." Madam Shen was angry when her eldest son was mentioned. His ears were too soft, and he would listen to his wife, who would die if she didn't mess up. It's not that she didn't know, but she was just too lazy to care.

Tang Qiaoqiao stood up as early as Madam Shen came in. Although she had a video chat with her, she couldn't help feeling strange in her heart when facing the real person. Shen Yue's good skin must have been inherited from his mother.

Although the wrinkles on Madam Shen's face could not be concealed, Tang Qiaoqiao could tell at a glance that she was a beautiful woman when she was younger.

But how could Madam Shen's enthusiastic and bold personality raise such a son who was always stubborn, picky, and venomous?

Madam Shen walked straight in Shen Yue's direction. Shen Yue sighed helplessly, thinking that his mother would want another hug after a long-awaited reunion.

But he didn't expect that his mother ignored her son's wide-open arms and instead walked straight to Tang Qiaoqiao. She was grabbing her hand and pulling her to sit down on the sofa.

"I'm going back to China this time mainly to see Qiaoqiao."

Shen Yue: ???

'Which one is your child?'

Tang Qiaoqiao glanced at Shen Yue, feeling a little nervous. She hadn't been particularly close to any elders. After all, the original owner's parents were never good to her.

Madam Shen looked up and down Tang Qiaoqiao carefully. "I remember that I only met you in a hurry before leaving the country. I haven't seen you for so long, and you look more and more beautiful."

Tang Qiaoqiao couldn't help but feel happy when she heard this. The corner of her mouth smiled and said, "Madam is praising too much."

"Why are you still calling me Madam?" Madam Shen said, "You have been married for almost a year, and it's time to change the way you call me."

"Ah?" Tang Qiaoqiao was dumbfounded and looked at Shen Yue for help.

Shen Yue frowned slightly and was about to open his mouth to block her, but Madam Shen said again, "I know you have too little contact with me, and you won't feel comfortable for a while, but you need to get used to it."

Tang Qiaoqiao looked at Madam Shen's sincere eyes. She paused for a moment and then whispered, "Mom."

Anyway, she herself was born as an ancient profound ladle, with no father and no mother. So it wouldn't hurt to call Madam Shen "mother." Instead, it felt pretty amazing.

Madam Shen was immediately happy, holding her hand tighter.

Shen Yue's heart was shaken, and suddenly he felt that his mother's return to China was not a bad thing.

The more Madam Shen looked at Tang Qiaoqiao, the more she liked her. She rubbed her hands and said, "Why is your skin so dewy and so good without makeup? What skincare products do you use? Do female celebrities like you have their own professional beauty doctors?"

Madam Shen still paid so much attention to skincare and beauty. Tang Qiaoqiao also agreed with this. A woman must become elegant and beautiful even at the age of 80.

She smiled and said, "The skincare products I use are nothing special, they are very common brands, and I don't have any beauty doctors."

"That's because your natural beauty is hard to conceal." Madam Shen blurted out.

"Ah, you can say that."

'Ah ha ha,' Tang Qiaoqiao covered her face shyly.

Shen Yue saw it but looked at the sky speechlessly and couldn't bear it.

Tang Qiaoqiao added, "I mainly rely on food supplements, so I can have good skin. Of course, friends in my circle do know well-known beauticians. If you need them, I can ask them to introduce you."

"Okay ." Madam Shen listened to this with great interest, "but I'm more interested in your food supplements. Of course, purely natural is the best."

Sure enough, as soon as they talk about skincare and beauty, two unfamiliar women can quickly become friends.

At this time, Aunt Wang walked over and said, "Madam, I have cleaned up your room."

"What? You still want to live here?" Shen Yue raised his eyebrows.

Madam Shen glared at him. "What? I want to live with my son. Can't I?"

Shen Yue said bluntly, "Inconvenient."

"Well, as the saying goes. When you have a wife, you forget your mother. Before, you never minded if I lived here." Madam Shen pretended to wipe the non-existent tears in the corner of her eyes.

Shen Yue was unmoved. Her tricks could not deceive him anymore.

However, Tang Qiaoqiao was anxious when she saw Madam Shen's sadness, and she said to Shen Yue with a dissatisfied tone, "Why did you say that? It is only natural for Mom to live here."

"Qiaoqiao is still filial to me, unlike my unfilial son," Madam Shen immediately got up. "Qiaoqiao, I will take a bath and change clothes first, and we will continue to talk later."

Tang Qiaoqiao obediently said, "Okay."

As soon as Madam Shen went upstairs, Shen Yue stared at Tang Qiaoqiao and said in a huff, "Are you stupid?"

Tang Qiaoqiao was stunned because of his words. "You are stupid."

Shen Yue smiled. "If she lives here and sees that we, a married couple, have one sleep upstairs and the other downstairs, what will happen?"

Tang Qiaoqiao's eyes widened suddenly. 'Oh, I forgot.'

'Dead, it's over.'

She hurriedly asked, "What would happen if she knew about it?"

Shen Yue said in a chilly voice, "My mom has no big health issues, but her heart is not very good. She can't stand stimulation."

Tang Qiaoqiao said, "You mean if she knew, she would be irritated because we sleep in separate rooms?"

"What do you think?"

"What should we do? Should we call your eldest brother and ask him to take your mother to live with him?"

Shen Yue shook his head. "Impossible, my mother loves me the most. She must have wanted to take a good look at me when she came back. Besides, she doesn't like my sister-in-law very much, so she doesn't go to her eldest brother's place very often."

"What should we do?" Tang Qiaoqiao thought about it and clapped her hands. “Why don't I go live outside for a while? Just say that I have some work today, and I won't be back in the evening."

Shen Yue also rejected this idea. "Don't think my mother knows nothing. She also has contacts in the entertainment industry."

"This is not okay. That is not okay." Tang Qiaoqiao is now worried, "If we cannot do anything else, then simply tell the truth. I can  see that your mother has a very good physical condition."

"Just in case something wrong happened..."

"Then what should we do?"

"There are still ways."

"What is it?" Tang Qiaoqiao asked closer.

Shen Yue seemed to speak casually, "My mother will go back to the old house after staying for one or two days at most, so lets just hide it for these two days."

"You mean we sleep together?"

Shen Yue gave a dry cough, "I can reluctantly share my room with you."

"I have to thank you."

After a long pause, Tang Qiaoqiao frowned and said, "Then don't take advantage of me."

"Heh," Shen Yue said nothing, but his expression is saying, "Do you think you should be worried or I should be worried?"

Tang Qiaoqiao thought for a few seconds, grinned, and thought it made sense.

What's so scary about Shen Yue, who was in a wheelchair?

After figuring this out, Tang Qiaoqiao instantly relaxed and asked, "What does your mother like to eat? I will make a banquet for her tonight."

Shen Yue said, "She likes spicy food, but the doctor ordered her to eat less oily and salty foods as much as possible."

"Okay." Tang Qiaoqiao thought about it in her heart.

Madam Shen saw the vegetable garden behind the villa from upstairs. She was very excited and rushed into the vegetable garden after taking a shower.

Her hand stroked the vegetable leaves that were fluttering in the wind, and her mouth couldn't help but praise, "Oh, this vegetable garden is so well maintained."

"I don't like to grow flowers and exotic plants. I have grown some vegetables, but they have never been as good as yours." Madam Shen now looks\ed at Tang Qiaoqiao like a piece of treasure.

Tang Qiaoqiao smiled and said, "This is also Shen Yue's credit. He took care of my garden when I was away."

Madam Shen heard something terrific, and her mouth was half-opened. "My picky and hygiene-obsessed son will come to take care of these vegetables?"

Tang Qiaoqiao nodded.

"Hey, is he possessed by something?" Madam Shen exaggerated.

Not far away, Shen Yue exclaimed, "I can hear you."

Madam Shen ignored him, pulling Tang Qiaoqiao to pick a lot of crispy vegetables, ready to eat them tonight.

She had been greedy for her daughter-in-law's cooking skills for a long time.

In the evening, Tang Qiaoqiao made a table of dishes for Madam Shen to enjoy. Chopped pepper fish head, green pepper beef tenderloin, dried bamboo shoots, winter melon, and old duck soup, as well as mushrooms, cabbage, and water spinach with garlic.

The staple food was dumplings stuffed with celery and pork. Madam Shen was a northerner. No matter the event, she loved to eat dumplings when she traveled or when she sat at home.

"This is too rich." Madam Shen looked at the table full of dishes, and her heart was moved.

"You have been abroad for so long, and you must have missed Chinese food," Tang Qiaoqiao smiled. "I don't know if any of these suits your taste?"

"Oh, absolutely," Madam Shen's eyes were shining, "Every dish is my favorite."

She was the first to stretch her chopsticks toward the red chopped pepper fish head because the bright red layer of chopped pepper was so tempting.

The fish was served with a little chopped pepper. The fish was tender and glutinous, and melted in the mouth. The sauce was very fragrant, with a mildly spicy taste and a hint of sourness, which stimulated the appetite.

"It's delicious." Madam Shen immediately stretched out her thumb.

Tang Qiaoqiao smiled and said, "This chopped pepper is pickled with the chili that I grew by myself. There is a big jar in the refrigerator. If you liked them, bring some back. It would be most appetizing if you put a little bit when cooking."

Madam Shen smiled from ear to ear and picked up another chopstick of the beef tenderloin. The meat was marinated with starch in advance, so the texture was smooth and tender. The green peppers were also freshly picked from the vegetable garden, with a fragrant and spicy flavor. The spiciness was just right.

Although she was a northerner, she had always loved spicy food since she was a child. But since her heart had some problems, the doctor explained that she would not be allowed to eat too much. As a result, her family members would always cook light food for her, fearing that she would have a problem.

However, the two dishes Tang Qiaoqiao cooked did not lose the spiciness, but they were not too irritating. They were simply good for her stomach.

The dried bamboo shoots and winter melon old duck soup had been boiled for more than an hour. The duck meat had been stewed until very soft and tender. The soup was mellow and oily but not greasy. The dried bamboo shoots and winter melon filled the soup of the old duck, and the flavor overflowed with every bite. A bowl of old duck soup in this season was the most nourishing.

Madam Shen tasted several dishes one by one, then picked up a chubby celery pork dumpling. The dumplings had thin skins and large fillings, and the green color from the fillings could be clearly seen inside. She dipped it in a hot and sour dipping sauce and put it into her mouth.

The celery was fragrant and refreshing. The meat filling was very chewy. It also contains a delicious soup, which was very delicious.

Madam Shen sighed with emotion, "This is the first dumpling I have eaten this fall."

Tang Qiaoqiao picked up some vegetables for her, "Then eat more."

Madam Shen glanced at Shen Yue, who had been immersed in eating and couldn't help but say, "Qiaoqiao is sensible. Look at him. He doesn't care about this old lady. It's really a waste to raise him for more than 20 years."

Shen Yue swallowed a mouthful of duck meat, then slowly picked up a chopstick of spinach before saying lazily, "Did you ever teach me when I was young?"

"..." Madam Shen was choked by his words.

'This seems to be correct.'

Seeing that Shen Yue had picked up a half plate of spinach with his chopsticks, Madam Shen couldn't bear it. She hurriedly moved her chopsticks to eat. Otherwise, everything would be eaten up by this unfilial son.

After eating, the three of them sat and watched TV for a while.

After ten o'clock, Madam Shen checked the time, stretched her waist, and said, "It's time to go to bed. You can't stay up late when you are older, so you two should go to bed earlier."

"Oh, good." Tang Qiaoqiao replied in a daze.

Shen Yue was silent.

Madam Shen's eyes rolled back and forth between the two, squinting and smiling. "You guys, are you sleeping in one room?"

"Nonsense." Shen Yue replied solemnly.

Tang Qiaoqiao nodded.

"Then why don't you go to sleep?" Madam Shen pushed his wheelchair and urged him.

Tang Qiaoqiao: "We still want to watch TV for a while."

Madam Shen said, "What's so good about this TV? Young people should not waste a good time."

Tang Qiaoqiao: "..."

'What does your expression mean?'

"Let's go." Shen Yue glanced at Tang Qiaoqiao, who had to walk over to push his wheelchair.

Under Madam Shen's ambiguous eyes, the two walked to Shen Yue's room together.

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